Office of Vital Records Operations

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 03/19/2020 09:54 AM CDT
minnesota department of health

County Vital Records Office colleagues:

Thank you for providing essential vital records services during the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate your efforts to serve and meet the needs of the public, especially with the higher demand due to REAL ID. We want you to know that MDH and the Office of Vital Records (OVR) are here to support your work and assure that operations continue. Vital records are important and we are following the Governor’s orders and MDH’s plan.

OVR is open

  • Minnesota Registration and Certification (MR&C) is a priority IT system—we expect that MR&C will be available and fully operational.
  • Support and service is available to our partners and customers. Contact the OVR Help Desk at 651-201-5970 or health.vitalrecords@state.mn.us.
  • OVR is processing and fulfilling requests as we ordinarily would— we post our processing times on our MDH webpages. Expedited requests are given priority. Tell customers to allow extra time for us to fulfill their requests.

Advice for local offices

  • OVR advises vital records offices and staff across the state to make the best decisions with the information available to protect the staff and the public.
    • Local offices should follow their county/city direction and guidance for their operations.
    • Local offices should update their web information if they make changes and direct customers appropriately.
    • Local offices should notify OVR if they make changes to their services such as changing hours of operation, closing counter service, or closing the office. OVR will update information on the County Vital Records Office Contact Information webpage.
  • OVR encourages local offices to check with surrounding counties to be aware of changes and closures as the health situation evolves before directing customers to other offices for in-person service. Customers may continue to request services from OVR by mail or fax.
  • OVR will adjust MR&C user access to accommodate non-traditional work schedules temporarily. Contact the OVR Help Desk if you or your staff need to work outside of your usual hours.

Please protect yourselves and stay healthy. Information about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is on the Minnesota Department of Health website.